The truth about a complex built for veterans and the middle class and how it has evolved through the years to become one of the more interesting and controversial of New York stories.

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Management has two priorities: 1) Making sure money is made, hence upgrading and filling up apartments is their goal. "Amenities" are important in selling the place, though few residents use them. 2) If someone needs medical attention, Public Safety will be there, if alerted.

Quality of life issues are not that important, however. Things like the carpet rule or outsider dogs. These "rules" tend to be ignored, on purpose it seems. So you will see a lot that isn't taken care of properly, and complaints will be met with a creative excuse and a smile.

"Peace and quiet" must be a cruel joke, though this property is sold that way. There can be no peace and quiet as ALL apartments must be upgraded, which includes the installation of an AC unit below the window. Aside from the continual construction about the neighborhood, there is a new and noisy subway extension being built along East 14 st and the shut down of the L line. "Choosing" to live in NYC, now the newest mantra, is a fabrication when the talk is of ST and PCV, which was traditionally quiet, with no construction noise.

Though money was always important, it is now more important than ever. Money rules many things, as you will find.

At this point, 30 years into living here and seeing many things, I can state that Management and their reps are BS-ing us. I can't say that loudly enough: We are being BS-ed. I don't see any genuine change, though the "selling" of this place is intense. Few of the "rules" will be enforced, as Management doesn't want to lose customers or potential customers. Where personal integrity is a hallmark of an excellent management style, this integrity is not seen in enforcing some of the rules.

About those "club cars" we see going this way and that way, and outside of Stuy Town or Peter Cooper Village:

Saturday, October 17, 2009

The LA Times website features a blog piece by Jill Stewart on the California Public Employee Retirement System and its investment in Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village. Here's the part that addresses Stuy Town/PCV:

.... the other ugly news breaking today about corruption at Calpers: its board of directors poured vast public funds -- your money -- into a scheme in Manhattan to force working-class people out of thousands of apartments on the city's East Side, and rent those apartments to the rich. Sick, sick stuff.

Calpers' board of directors and staff need a massive political and fiscal enema. Here's what these people have been up to:

According to the Wall Street Journal, CALPERS was a very, very big investor in a plan to convert 11,000 apartments that make up the vast "Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town" of 56 (yes, 56) brick high-rises on the city's East Side. Apparently, these 56 towers provide roofs for about 30,000 working-class New Yorkers.

In a plot thick with evil intent -- like forced homelessness and mass evictions -- Calpers poured in cash, along with the Government of Singapore Investment Corp. and others, to own a piece of Cooper Village/Stuy Town, which was built for returning veterans and their young families after World War II.

The term "market rate" in Manhattan means housing for the upper-middle-class and the rich.

Add some granite counters, WiFi, poodle doors and snobby doormen, and force thousands of working people out of their rent-controlled homes. But do it 3,000 miles away from California in New York City.

We California state taxpayers paid for this nasty scheme, but we never knew it.

But now, with Calpers mired in intellectual corruption -- and possibly fiscal corruption, thanks to its pals like Al Villalobos -- the WSJ reports that the vast brick Manhattan complex worth $5.4 billion when Calpers bought into it is now worth $2.1 billion and default appears "imminent."

Let's see it blow up in Calpers' face. California voters are not shitheads. California voters have approved bond measure after bond measure to provide affordable housing and house the homeless. California voters would never, ever have backed such an anti-human, anti-family, anti-worker scheme as the one Calpers invested in in New York.

Maybe Californians will put an initiative on the ballot to upend the Calpers board of directors and outlaw its ultra-rich private middlemen, and start over at this troubled pension fund.

As the WSJ reported about Cooper Village/Stuy Town: "The new owners predicted they would be able to convert thousands of protected apartments to higher market rents. These projections convinced Calpers" to jump in. How despicable.

Though there's a different kind of "fall" awaiting this complex, it's good to enjoy whatever blessings we get--via nature. A faithful reader of this blog sent in these photos of the fall foliage at the Oval. (Thank you!)

Of course, we seem to be in the middle of winter right now, but hopefully we can enjoy the fall season for a while longer.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

According to the Wall Street Journal, it appears that a "special servicer" will be dealing with the debt over ST/PVC soon, no matter if Tishman Speyer wins the J-51 court case. Tishman Speyer's problems, which are mostly the problems of the suckers who invested at TS' urgings, are detailed in the article linked below:

Sunday, October 11, 2009

By now you probably have heard that a Stuyvesant Town female resident was attacked and robbed near the M level of 8 Stuyvesant Oval, Sunday, September 27th. It was only through the vocal responses of neighbors and the woman's own grit to fight her attacker that the incident didn't escalate into something far more tragic. According to Town & Village, the woman was robbed of somewhere between $200-300 and suffered two black eyes and broken capillaries in her eyes.

The attack took place deep into this area, near 8 Oval:

Looks charming in the daylight hours, but at night it can be a foreboding forest for a solitary walker, particularly a woman or a senior citizen.

Stuyvesant Town Security did arrive, once they were alerted, but they never "caught their man" and, despite all the cameras around the complex, were not able to see and stop the attack in progress.

All this was foreseen many, many months ago. When Tishman Speyer's massive tree planting campaign started, residents questioned the practicality of having so many trees all around Stuy Town, when the trees would be an obvious natural cover for potential robbers and rapists. In their arrogance, Tishman Speyer didn't listen and even made the potentially dangerous situation even more perilous by reducing Stuy Town's security staff and relying on newly installed cameras, instead of "boots on the ground," to deal with safety issues.

There have been various other incidents inside Stuyvesant Town--muggings and a rape--and in each instance that I know of, Stuy Town Security has not been able to stop the crime nor apprehend the criminal. That's the serious stuff. If we mention the trivial "quality of life" issues, Security has also been a dismal failure. The dog rules are not being enforced and, despite the extra (and pathetic) effort of putting up green barricades, bicyclists still ride their bikes wherever they choose.

I don't blame Security for not being up to the task of stopping crime and enforcing Stuy Town's rules. I blame Tishman Speyer, which has eviscerated Security and relied on technology that has been proven not to work. I've said this over and over: You need an actual security presence on the ground, walking, to even hope to deter crime and enforce the rules. Driving around the loops or the Oval every hour in vehicles is not going to do it; huddling in front of monitors at the Management Office isn't going to work, either. You have to have foot patrols and have those patrols walk throughout the entire complex, the back ways in particular where rules are continually being broken and crime is awaiting to sprout.

My guess is that Security is just as fed up with Tishman Speyer as are residents. My guess is that, furthermore, they feel Tishman Speyer will not stand up for them if they enforce some of the "petty" rules of this place. (I'm sure all of Security is aware of what happened to one of their own when a confrontation took place between a misbehaving dog owner and a security officer who was just trying to enforce the rules; the security officer was fired.)

Tishman Speyer's destruction of Security is just one step in the process of destroying Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village. And tragic consequences are beginning to arise out of this.

Monday, October 5, 2009

I know a lot of you (yes, you know who you are) will be overjoyed at the return to Stuyvesant Town of cabbages. These charming decorative cabbages are perfect for this time of year and much appreciated by Stuy Town mice and rats who, with the lessening of human picnics on the Oval grounds, would have had a hard time seeking out food to live on through the winter months. Expect the aroma of rotting cabbages some time early next year, but that will be a small price to pay for the visual bounty we are getting and the food supply for our little (and not so little) rodent friends.

Until There Is Silence No More

The Tenants Association and our then councilman Dan Garodnick have mysteriously remained silent about a purported incident that occurred on July 12, 2017: the mugging by a group of individuals of someone right by Peter Cooper Village, along 20th Street.

I write this on May 3, 2018: Since this year, there have been three suicides in ST/PCV. Aside from silence by almost everyone, there occurred a suicide where sulfuric acid was used and the city had to be called in, including the Fire Dept. As of now, there has been a general state of silence about this suicide, even though other resident lives were at danger. Yes, our councilperson is silent. The TA is silent. Obviously, Management is silent, too.

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"We'll be introducing a new process to identify registered dogs thus enabling Public Safety Officers to clearly approach offending dog owners. The registration will hang from the leash handle; clearly identifying the dog as registered.

"If the dog is not registered by May 1; a summons will be issued at the point of contact. If we learn the dog owner is not a resident, they will be escorted off the property."

Rick Hayduk, CEO and General Manager of PCVST. Letter to Barry Shapiro, February 2016.

STR here: I have been around since the inception of this dog policy and I have NEVER seen anyone escorted out of ST or PCV with their non-lanyard dog. But I have seen, many times, a dog owner from outside, and his/her dog, casually walking through ST or PCV.

THINKING of Renting in PCVST?

Read Yelp reviews to find out what it's like living here. Please note: All apartments are currently "rent-stabilized" but that doesn't prevent apartments from going up to 4K to 6K a month and even higher. How does this happen? Ask our politicians! Fact: Now less than half of the complex's apartments have the old rents and it's getting worse year by year--or better if you are the Real Estate Board of New York!

The Other Yelp Reviews

Yelp can be tricky and bounce reviews for a variety of reasons, like being a member and posting just one review. Very often, however, these reviews hold important truths about what's being reviewed. READ THESE TOO.

BICYCLES, MOPEDS, SCOOTERS, ETC.

Of course, "private property" but "public access" - whatever that means! And if a part of it is public access, do the rules of the city apply to our roads and sidewalks? Or does anything give because this complex is "private property"? Who comes here in case of a fire in one of our buildings? The Stuy Town Fire Brigade?

Hint: Look both ways if you are in the complex. Look on the ground, too!

61.03 Control of dogs and other animals to prevent nuisance. (a) A person who owns, possesses or controls a dog, cat or other animal shall not permit the animal to commit a nuisance on a sidewalk of any public place, on a floor, wall, stairway, sidewalk, lawn, garden or roof of any public or private premises used in common by the public, or on a fence, wall [or], stairway or entranceway of a building abutting on a public place

Banned & Oversize Dog Breeds in Stuy Town

Looks like there is some difficulty in enforcing the ban on certain dog breeds allowed inside Stuy Town/Peter Cooper Village. Somehow pitbulls and pitbull mixes have been registered in STPCV and are allowed to be freely walked about the grounds! Registered dogs in the complex are max 50 pounds. Total, if there is more than one! More than two, it's illegal. It's going to get worse, and, face it, Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village will never be like it once was.

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Read it and Weep

Current Value of ST/PCV

Was 5.4 Billion Dollars when Tishman Speyer bought the place.Became 1.7 Billion Dollars when Tishman Speyer left, with their tail between their legs. Of course, tenants now have to make up the loss.

Ex-landlord

Rob Speyer

1947 Stuy Town Plaque Honoring Met Life Chairman F.H. Ecker (Removed in 2002 and never seen again)

"... who with the vision of experience and the energy of youth conceived and brought into being this project, and others like it, that families of moderate means might live in health, comfort and dignity in park-like communities and that a pattern might be set of private enterprise productively devoted to public service."

I am writing on behalf of everyone at Tishman Speyer to express how honored we are to become part of your outstanding community. We are a business with deep roots in New York, a true love of our city and a great respect for the neighborhoods that make it special. We are committed to maintaining the unique character and environment that have made Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town such a wonderful place to live for so long. We look forward to providing you an extraordinary level of service and attentiveness that will be the source of pride and satisfaction for the entire community.

Neighborhood Recommendations

New to Stuy Town/Peter Cooper Village? Here are some basic recommendations.

Best supermarket: Associated on 14th St. between 1st Ave. and Ave A. The cheapest prices, fantastic weekly sales, very affordable lunches; solid, responsive management, but earthy. Some of the young female cashiers have attitude to spare, though. May be too far for Peter Cooper residents.

Best gym: Don't waste your money on the Oval Fitness Gym. Instead go to the earthy but real Asser Levy Recreational Center, right above 23rd St on Asser Levy Place (near the FDR Drive). $75 for a year's membership; seniors are almost free. Contains seasonal indoor and outdoor swimming pools, ping-pong table, two pool tables. Called by some rich people who wouldn't get caught going there "the prison gym," and you know why.

A Stuy Town favorite is Lenz's on 20 St. between the 20 St. Loop. The way New York used to be. Be careful of unwanted "pepper" in your food, however. Lenz's got a B grade rating and was temporarily closed down due to an order from the Health Department. Bruno's on First Avenue is more upscale, with a greater selection of food items (higher-priced, too), but was closed down temporarily by the Health Department. Stuy Town's own cafe was closed, too! And not because of all the dogs that hover and piss outside.

Gracefully has two locations, but we prefer for its size the one on 1st Ave. Prices are high and reflect the new tenants that are currently renting Stuy Town and Peter Cooper apartments. ("Do you have a credit card?") We like Gracefully's lunch specials, which are somewhat affordable.

I priced the CVS on 1st Ave near 14st. The non-aerosol hairspray was 20 cents above CVS' own website price, and one of the highest in NY. (Yes, I have hair.) You can save at least a dollar or more buying at another place. So beware. Look around for a better deal on all your items.

I love warm Quaker Oats in the morning. Gristedes is not the place to get it, nor is Associated, though their price is less. Look around!

Macular Degeneration Support Group

If you are currently diagnosed with Macular Degeneration, the New York Eye & Ear Infirmary is offering a support group for you. Conveniently located next to the Peter Cooper Village Stuyvesant Town apartment complex, our group offers the opportunity to share stories with other members, listen to expert guest speakers, and learn coping strategies to reduce stress. Our group runs on the first Wednesday of every month and we would enjoy seeing you there.
Please contact Baptiste Nicolas, Social Work Assistant at 212-979-4105 for further information and to see if this group is right for you!